We all know how hard school-issued Dells are to use. They’re slow, unreliable, and hinder our academic success. We are forced to miss class time to visit the library for tablet assistance, we have to redo work when our unreliable tablets doesn’t save it, and fall behind on work when our tablet is so slow. It should not take ten seconds to make a simple Google search, especially since AP classes, which many of us are enrolled in, are so fast paced. During the 2020-2021 school year, we had the opportunity to see how efficiently our schoolwork COULD run on our personal devices. The stability of usable and familiar devices truly aided in our academic success. We were able to quickly access all school material without the lag and instability. Now that ‘school-issued devices’ only rule has become stricter, the completion of our school work has become slow and unreliable. Personal devices should be allowed in schools because they aid in the success of students by allowing an efficient and fast way to access school material and reduce long tedious trips to the library for tablet repair. While personal devices should be allowed, I do agree that students should not have completely unrestricted internet access. To monitor personal device users searches, the school should create a Personal Device WiFi network — one that is separate from the standard WiFi network to prevent any viruses from affecting the network. That solves two problems — Lynbrook’s network will be safe from outside viruses and schools will still able to uphold academic integrity by monitoring searches on the personal devices WiFi network. I do have more suggestions on how to allow students to achieve success by using their personal devices while keeping Lynbrook’s network safe, but to avoid inundating the reader with too long of a letter, I will save the rest of that information for in person meetings regarding the topic. If Lynbrook High School truly cares about the academic success of their students, they will allow the use of personal devices, which will allow students to quickly reach their fullest potential without the lag and instability.

Please sign this petition if you agree: Lynbrook High School SHOULD allow personal devices as it is beneficial for the academic success and development of their students.